Sitemap Errors
Overview
Sitemap errors occur when XML sitemaps contain invalid URLs or incorrectly represent the structure of a website. Search engines rely on sitemaps to discover important pages. Incorrect sitemap configuration can prevent crawlers from locating new or updated content.
Common Causes
- sitemaps containing URLs returning 404 errors
- non-indexable pages included in the sitemap
- sitemap files exceeding size or URL limits
- sitemap not updated after content changes
- CMS sitemap plugins generating duplicate entries
How the Problem Appears
- Search Console reporting sitemap parsing errors
- crawlers encountering non-existent URLs in the sitemap
- new pages not appearing in search results
- sitemap coverage reports showing invalid URLs
How It Is Diagnosed
- validating the sitemap XML structure
- crawling URLs listed in the sitemap to confirm status codes
- checking Search Console sitemap reports
- comparing sitemap entries against actual site pages
Typical Fix
- remove invalid or non-indexable URLs from the sitemap
- regenerate sitemap files after site updates
- split large sitemaps into multiple files
- ensure sitemap index references all sitemap files